72" Lights from Aquatraders

xtreme · #1 11-10-2008, 06:44 PM

When I say upgrade i mean I changed out the ballasts that came with it for Icecap's and Vertex ballasts. The difference in brightness was like night and day. I then changed out the odyssea lamps with ushio and the color went from yellow to a nice crisp white/blue.

fencer · #2 11-10-2008, 08:33 PM

ULC would also be and acceptable standard and even the VOC german std. As for ballasts there are only a few companies that carry that rating(as well as CSA)

wtym · #3 11-10-2008, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xtreme

When I say upgrade i mean I changed out the ballasts that came with it for Icecap's and Vertex ballasts. The difference in brightness was like night and day. I then changed out the odyssea lamps with ushio and the color went from yellow to a nice crisp white/blue.

I bought one and had to change out all the ballasts and bulbs after just a few months. If I could go back and do it again I'd buy a better quality one first to avoid massive headaches.

xtreme · #4 11-10-2008, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wtym

I bought one and had to change out all the ballasts and bulbs after just a few months. If I could go back and do it again I'd buy a better quality one first to avoid massive headaches.

Mine was still working fine, I was just curious to see how big of a difference a ballast could make. I picked up one new ballast and after seeing how much brighter it made the original bulb I had to get two more. That made me wonder about the quality of the bulbs as well. I picked up some 14k Ushio's and the color was much better, although when comparing the original bulbs they were 6 months old.

Which MH fixtures are the best I do not know. I have seen some nice units available but I'm not in the market for one right now so haven't done the research. What I do know is quality lamps and ballast go a long ways.

Leah · #5 11-11-2008, 12:27 AM

I second, have had a rather distasteful experience with coralife. I bought one of their
metal halide lights and was so frustrated with trying to get in touch with them, as the
light didn't work properly from day 1. My dad said it was a piece of ----. Not what you want to hear once you have it. Anyhow it was an eye-opener to say the least.
________
Honda information

my2rotties · #6 11-11-2008, 12:55 AM

Well these last posts pretty much made me decide against the generic lighting. I figured just as much but hoped for some reason they were fantastic. I guess when we are financing a 260g tank, we try to save every penny. It seems that everytime we buy something, its $1000 or more, hence the time its taking for this build...

What brand of lights do you guys suggest then?

mike31154 · #7 11-11-2008, 01:50 AM

I see by the link you provided that the 72 inch fixture has compact fluorescents with the MH instead of T5 HO. That to me would be another reason to stay away from it. T5 HOs would give you much better efficiency and more flexibility as to lamp choice. I realize they would just be supplementing the MH, but nevertheless, T5HO would be a better choice as a supplement.

globaldesigns · #8 11-11-2008, 07:29 PM

I have a 4ft Corallife with 2X250W MH, 2 Actinics and 4 Moon LED, and must say what you are looking at looks quite similar.

I love my corallife

my2rotties · #9 11-11-2008, 08:07 PM

They "look" like Corallife lights, but I think that is the only similarity. I think I will talk to the husband and see if we should try to make our own lighting, if you have to mod most of them any ways... This build has been 8 months from the time I bought the tank, and if it takes another year to make certain it is right we will just have to wait it out. It kills me to got to the LFS and see all my future livestock that I want to stock the tank with. I am sure that will be another big chapter of questions to make sure they are compatible, since I want a peaceful and happy tank.

I always thought Coralife was good, but not having it personally and hearing it needs to be upgraded makes me wonder... If I could have bought generic lighting for half the price an upgraded which I would have to do with the Coralife lights, why not go that route? Then I read thrads and just don't want to chance it. Electricity and water are risky as it is.

Quote:

Originally Posted by globaldesigns

I have a 4ft Corallife with 2X250W MH, 2 Actinics and 4 Moon LED, and must say what you are looking at looks quite similar.

I love my corallife

MMAX · #10 11-11-2008, 10:41 PM

I was looking at the 48" model from Aquatraders. It sounds like a great deal but I'd be real worried about the shipping aspect of it. Coming from that far away (California I think) the fixture would more than likely arrive in several broken pieces.